By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A 35-year-old woman, who admitted to setting a fire at The Repair Depot while it was occupied by more than 60 people, has been ordered to have individual counseling, a substance abuse evaluation as well as a mental health assessment, and to follow any recommendations as part of a plea bargain approved in court last week.
Desirae D. Carrier, who formerly lived in Glencoe but now resides in Cushing, was employed at the rural Stillwater business at the time that two fires were set on June 21, 2018, but one of her arson counts was dropped by the prosecution when she entered a guilty plea Friday.
Carrier, who had already paid $5,395 in restitution, was also fined $350, assessed $100 to the victims’ compensation fund, and ordered to pay a $960 prosecution fee, as conditions of a seven-year probationary term that included a weekend in jail, court records show.
The Stillwater Fire Department had responded at 8:57 a.m. on June 21, 2018, to The Repair Depot on a report of smoke originating above suspended ceiling tiles in the women’s restroom, Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Rockford Brown wrote in an affidavit.
“This fire was initially determined to be from wiring,” but firefighters responded a second time less than an hour later for a second fire, the affidavit said.
Stillwater Fire Marshal Neal Moore “suspected arson and requested assistance from the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s Office,” which arrived two hours later to begin an investigation, the affidavit said.
“Carrier admitted to causing the second fire,” during an interview with the Stillwater fire marshal, the affidavit said.
“Carrier had expressed being upset with unsafe working conditions,” and added “she had made a complaint to OSHA but had seen no improvements,” the affidavit said.
When an agent from the State Fire Marshal’s Office “later asked Carrier if any of her coworkers had anything to do with the first fire,” Carrier admitted “she did set the first fire by trying to light the wires on fire,” the affidavit said.
“The building was occupied with over 60 people during both fires and both fires were lit in the lower level of the building. Most of the employees are housed on the ground floor; however, there are at least five employees who work upstairs. There is only one entrance and exit to the second level and both fires were in the vicinity of the stairwell,” the affidavit said.
Since Carrier was given a deferred sentence, she will not have a criminal record of first-degree arson if she successfully completes probation.
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